Homemade Hibachi Stir Fry

You know when you get a craving for the most random thing you haven't had in years, but you need it, like now?? That was me with hibachi stir fry a couple weeks ago. Specifically yum yum sauce, but that and Japanese hibachi food go hand-in-hand to me. Unfortunately, it's hard to ensure that restaurant hibachi is vegetarian/vegan, plus I just love cooking for myself at home, so I set out to concoct my own hibachi.

What I came up with ended up being SO good, Kenny even says it's one of his favorite things I've ever made, which is a big win in my book, because I subject him to a lot of different random recipes and vegan experiments. I served the stir fry with plain ole brown rice, but if you're fancy you could make fried rice to serve it with.

Hibachi Stir Fry

Adapted from The Frugal Girl

Ingredients

• 14 oz package extra firm tofu (I like to use the pre-pressed kind; you could also use chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, etc.)
• 2 medium or large zucchinis
• 1 large sweet, white, or yellow onion
• 8 oz white mushrooms 
• 1/2 c soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos
• 1/3 c vegetable oil, plus more to coat pan
• 1/4 c water
• 1 T agave syrup
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 t fresh grated ginger
• 1 t sriracha, more to taste 
• 1 T corn starch
• Brown rice for serving
• Yum yum sauce

Directions

1. Dice tofu into bite-sized pieces. 
2. Make the marinade: Combine soy sauce, vegetable oil, water, agave, garlic, ginger, and sriracha in a medium bowl. Add the tofu (or whatever protein you're using) and stir to coat, keeping as much of the tofu submerged in the marinade as possible. Let sit for 1-4 hours, stirring at least once.
3. In a large pan or wok, heat 1-2 T oil over medium-high heat. Remove the tofu from the marinade (saving the marinade to use as sauce) and add it to the pan. Saute the tofu for about 5 minutes per side until golden brown and slightly crispy. While the tofu is cooking, dice the onion and cut the zucchini and mushrooms into bite size pieces. Remove the tofu from the pan and set it aside. 
4.  Add another 1-2 T of oil to the pan and saute the onions for about 3 minutes until they start to soften. Add the zucchini and mushrooms, cook until zucchini has softened. 
5. Whisk 1 T corn starch into the remaining marinade mixture and add it to the vegetables. Stir for about a minute until thickened. NOTE: ONLY do this step if you used tofu as your protein, not raw meat. 
6. Add the tofu back into the pan and stir in with the vegetables until warm. 
7. Serve stir fry over rice. I serve the stir fry with yum yum sauce, I like to use this recipe, it's sooo good! It's not vegan, but can easily be adapted to be. (The sauce recipe states that it's best to let it sit overnight for maximum flavor, but I've eaten it right away and it's still just as delicious.)

This recipe is so good, Kenny and I could eat it every week! Let me know if you try it and how you like it. Bone apple tea!

xoxx, Laura